Tuatha de Danaan
The Tuatha De Danaan lived in the northern isles of the world, learning the lore, magic, druidism, wizardry, and cunning of all. Soon they surpassed the sages of the arts and of all heathendom. Now there were four cities in which they learned the lore, science, and diabolic arts. These were called Falais, Gorias, Murias, and Findias. Now, out of Falais was brought the Stone of Fal, which was in Tara. It was said to roar under every true king that would take the realm of Eire. From out of Gorias was brought the great Spear that Lug had. No battle could be won against it or could he who held it in his hand be harmed.
Out from Findias was found and brought the great Sword of Nuada. When this deadly sword was drawn from its sheath, no one ever escaped from it and it was irresistible. Finally, out of long-forgotten Murias came the Cauldron of Daghda. No company ever went from it unthankful for its bounty.
I invoke the land of Ireland,
Much-coursed be the fertile sea,
Fertile be the fruit-strewn mountain,
Fruit-strewn be the showery wood,
Showery be the river of waterfalls,
Of waterfalls be the lake of deep pools,
Deep-pooled be the hill-top well,
A well of tribes be the assembly,
An assembly be the kings of Tara,
Tara be the hill of the tribes,
The tribes be the sons of Mil,
Of Mil of the ships, the barks,
Let the lofty bark be Ireland,
Lofty Ireland, darkly sung,
An incantation of great cunning,
The great cunning of the wives of Bres,
The wives of Bres of Buaigne,
The great lady Ireland,
Eremon hath conquered her,
Ir, Eber have invoked for her.
I invoke the land of Ireland.
from Ancient Irish Tales edited by Tom Peete Cross & Clark Harris Stover
The People of the goddess Danu
The Book of Invasions say that the Tuatha de Danaan came to Ireland from the isles of the north, not in boats or marching over land but wafting purposefully through the air as an army of spirits, alighting softly on the field on the first day of May. Bringing with them their four great magical possessions: The Stone of Destiny, the flashing spear of their warrior-god Lugh, the sword of Nuada, and the great cauldron of their all-powerful god, the Daghda.
They carried light, beautifully crafted and decorated swords and spears, whereas those of the current residents, the Fir Bolgs, seemed crude and blunt. The Fir Bolgs had been a peaceful people but became jealous and suspicious of the the newcomers. The Fir Bolgs declared war on the Tuatha de Danaan. A great battle was fought near the western coast, where the Fir Bolgs lost heavily. The Childern of the goddess Danu won all of Ireland in the battle, but allowed the Fir Bolgs to remain in the western province of Connacht. Not all went the Danaans' way, however. In the battle the king of the Danaans, Nuada, lost his arm. This meant his abdication, because, according to Danaan law, the king should have no physical defect of any kinds.
In Nuada's place they elected Bres, whose mother came of that evil, shapeless race, the Formorians. Bres turned out to be an oppressive, churlish individual ill-equipped to rule. Sitting at Tara, he managed the affairs of the island so badly that the Formorians regained some of the initiative and psychological advantage they had long ago lost to the Nemedians. Developing a successful guerrilla strategy, they began raiding the Danaan settlements. The Danaans realized they had to get rid of Bres - so the poet Carbery satirized him, a fate all men of any stature feared more than death.
The Danaans then engaged the Formorians in many battles, creating many of the heros and gods of ancient Ireland. In the Second Battle of Moytura, the evil reign of the Formorians ended. The bards' verses of the battle recounted how the battlefield had rolled with noise like thunder as the shields of the enemy broke asunder, how the wind had sung as the spears and javelins hurtled through the air and how the swords had flashed like the forked lightning thrown down by the fingers of the gods.
After many hundreds of years of peace, on the first day of May, a platoon of tall and beautiful men landed on a shore in the southwest. Warriors all, they had come from Spain, sons of the king, Mil. They defeated every attack the Danaans made on them. In the end, peace was agreed upon, and the country was divided between them. All below the ground was given to the Danaans. They still live down there, spirits beneath the earth; they still have their magic and they still practise their wizardry and tell stories drawn from the memories of the old days. All of Ireland above the ground was thenceforth ruled by the tall warriors from Spain, the Milesians - or, as we now know them, the Celts.
Adapted from Legends of the Celts by Frank Delaney.
